Omaha daily bee., 1887-05-05
TOM POTTER.
Some Gossip About the New First
Vice President of the Union Pa

Vice President of the Union Pa
ciic.
Chicago Mail: The resignation of T. j.
Potter from the Burlington, and his con-
tcmplated departure for Omaha, makes
the first break into that quintet of old.
time practical railroaders who have
managed from Chicago five of the biggest
roads running out of hcre--lIughitt, of
the Northwestern, Gable, of the Rock
Island; Newell, of the Lake Shore; Nc.
Mullin, of the Chicago Il Alton, and Pot
ter, OF the Chicago, Burlington Il Quincy.
These five general managers have been
the dernier resort of the upholders of the
theory that, in the west at any rate, the
managers of the big railroads were men
who had earned their places by merit,
not occupants of the best berths through
their relations with the stock -jobbing
directors. When L. j. Potter was only
lineman on, the embryo Burlington,
Marvin iughitt was one of
the two telegraph operators who
handled all the business over Judge
Caton's Northwestern telegraph line out
of Chicago to the northwest. John New
ell, of the Lake Shore, was then chain
man and learning to be u civil engineer,
while X. r. Cable, favored little per
haps by his rich uncle, was keeping the
books; buying the supplies, looking out
| the work on one of the little divisions of
| the Rock Island. 1t has been no secret
here that these five rallroaders have al
ways rubbed up against each other with
| little friction. When John Newell was
on the Illinois Central MARVIN Hughitt
| was with the same road, but it wasn't
many months before it was plain that one
or the other would have to go. Hughitt
was the one, because Newell was the SUI
perior officer. All five are strong char
| acters, just a little too aggressive and un-
| compromising to get along together with
out occasional conflicts.
Potters removal to Omaha is another
| sign that the railroad problems that are
| pressing are not western nor northwest
| ern, but transcOntinental. The Burling-
| ton road is now so far along, SO well fed,
and so strong, that It's general manager.
| ship is not so much now a matter of
| practical railroading as good tinancier-
ing. The interstate commerce law has
already greatly changed the methods of
the roads out of here. Coups dc main
are not any longer possible. Rates can
| of q vast territory captured, and then
rates restored the next week. The
| Younger railroaders in this section of the
west will find that the tactics which
| made some of their seniors famous and
gave them preference, have been prohi-
bited. But in that territory west of st.
Paul and of Omaha, the roads are still in
that inchoate condition that requires
brilliant management as well as careful
tinanciering. The Union Pacific, the
Northern Pacific, the Denver q Rio
| Grandeur short about all the tr&nscon.
tinental roads are still in the condition
the western and northwestern lines out
of Chicago were ten or fifteen years ago.
II is no surprise to see them drafting the
big Chicago railroaders into their service
to help them out.
| There are people who believe that if Pot
ter had not accepted the offer of the Union
Pacific he might have been the president
| of the St. Paul. Phil Armour has always
looked upon him with an eye of favor,
| and some of the knottlest OF the recent
troubles in the old st. Paul Il Omaha
pools have been disentangled by these
two men taking them over in the million
aires LaSalle street Office.
Chicago Herald the resignation of
Vice President Potter, of the Chicago,
Burlington IL Quincy, has created quite a
sensation among the many employees of
that road. The Herald,in giving Sketch
of Mr.. POtter's career some months ago,
chronicled the fact that he is one of the
most popular railway officials in the
country. The employees of the Burling-
ton cannot understand why Potter de-
| cided to leave them, and an Iowa mem
Der of the Burlington g staff offers the eX-
planation that the transfer of MIR. Potter
to the Union Pacific simply means that
the ambitious Burlington intends making
the Union and Central Pacific roads a
part of its great system, and that Potter
is sent west to prepare the final &C
Guirements. In marked opposition to
this view is that of other railrOaders,
who say that Mr. Potter's severance
of oilcia! relation with the 90 was
wholly due to the harassing difficulties
existing between him and General Man
ager H. B. Stone. The latter is a brother
in.law to President Perkins. and has
sprung into prominence during the past
four years in the management of the Chi
cagO, Burlington q Quincy. His progress
from an obscure station to that of gen
eral manager, a position next to that of
Mr. Potter in point of authority, has
been phenomenally rapid, and it is re-
lated on excellent authority that on sew
eral occasions the first vice president
and Mr.. Stone came into sharp conflict.
Potter is not man who will yield
point or recCde from position once
taken, ana AS result of these occasional
collisions the general manager is said to
have emerged from the contest consider
ably tlattened out and in anything but a
| pleasant frame of mind. Conscious that
blood is thicker than water, and realizing
that his future management of the road
would lie attended with strained rela-
tions, Mr. Potter is reported to have de-
cided upon severing his official relations
with the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy
IN order to avoid an open rupture. An
Iowa railroad man writes as follows to
the Des Moincs Leader:
1T can be said without flattery or
adulation, but to the eternal credit of the
man, says the Des Moines Leader, that
few. if any, railway officials having the
prominence enjoyed by ION Potter.
ever retained the affection, respect and
unfaltering good will of all classes of en-
ployes as is accorded him by the en-
ployes of the Chicago, burlington Il
Quincy. Years ago the writer fooled
away several years of valuable time in
the tram service of the 60" vibrating
between Ottumwa and Creston on the
festive freight train. During these years
it was no uncommon occurrence to see
Mr. Potter seated on the end of a tie or
basking in the shade of convenient
water tank, talking over old times with
conductors, engineers and others who
had known him about Ottumwa during
the years he occupied the humble posi-: